When I reviewed Emily Autumn's Opheliac EP earlier this year I found it to be a decent and fairly interesting bit of crumpet. Oh, what a difference placing those songs within their full context makes! When heard as a full album, Emily Autumn's Opheliac is nothing short of delightful. The songs not featured on the EP develop the themes to a great extent and establish a Dickensian pace that carries throughout the entire listening experience. The first disc features the album proper; I still stand by my previous assessment of the music: "Opheliac is composed of faux harpsichord, violin, eclectic programming, and steampunk rhythms that recall a fanciful nether-netherland where difference engines collide in the parlor over a cup of hemlock tea. Autumn's vocals run the gamut from sweet evocation to growling threat," yet when the album is taken in its full presentation, it draws you in completely to a world of wayward Victorian girls, heartbreaking betrayal, and torn stockings. Opheliac isn't just a collection of songs, it is seamless provocation.
The second disc features more victoriandustrial penny dreadfuls, Bach's Largo for Violin, and Emily Autumn reciting three of her poems. ("Thank God I'm Pretty" has got to be the best b-side of the year, hands down. Any song that references being mistaken for a Suicide Girl makes me near to swooning.) Also included are a range of video clips and a picture gallery. Honestly, I could watch the footage of Ms. Autumn putting on her makeup all day without growing bored. -Jack